2006 - University of Connecticut Vice-Provost for Multicultural and International Affairs Diversity Award

Teaching Interests

At the undergraduate level, I currently teach NUSC 1167 Food Culture and Society, an introductory course taken by a wide range of students, which uses food as a vehicle to explore issues of diversity. It examines social, cultural and economic factors affecting food intake and nutritional status of different populations around the world. It includes both historical examination of food behaviors as well as contemporary topics, such as hunger in the USA, the effects of globalization and the role of animals in the human diet.
At the graduate level, I teach NUSC 5100 Concepts of Nutrition, which is required of all entering graduate students. Its prime goal is to introduce nutrition as a research discipline. The course also serves to introduce the new students to each other and to an unfamiliar academic environment. The very active participation of all students is expected and occurs.
A second graduate course, NUSC 6313 Nutrition and Gene Expression is co-taught with Ji-Young Lee. It is offered in the fall semester of odd numbered years. The course introduces students to the world of molecular biology and discusses the latest findings in the area of molecular nutrition research.
A general philosophy that guides my approach to teaching is a belief that all students are inherently intelligent. My job is to assist them with the academic skills required for the accessing and thoughtful evaluation of information, which leads to successful learning experiences both in the class and beyond.

Research Interests

While currently not active in laboratory research, my prior efforts used molecular approaches to address questions of nutritional significance. One area focused on the regulation of long chain fatty acid synthesis by hormones and diet, in particular thyroid hormones and dietary carbohydrate. A second area relates to the trace mineral zinc, which is implicated in the pathway by which several hormones, including thyroid hormone, regulate gene expression. Initial studies examined the influence of zinc status on thyroid hormone action and then moved to a broader investigation of zinc homeostasis and action. Of specific interest are the differences between normal and cancerous cells in their homeostatic responsive to zinc deprivation.

Freake HC. Curricular Designs for General Education at the UGC-Supported Universities in Hong Kong. In: General Education and the Development of Global Citizenship in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China: not Merely Icing on the Cake. Xing J, Ng PS and Cheng C, eds. Taylor and Francis, Oxford, UK, pp105-120, 2012.

Freake HC, Schwartz HL and Oppenheimer JH. The regulation of lipogenesis by thyroid hormone and its contribution to thermogenesis. Endocrinology 125, 2868-2874, 1989.

Freake HC, Oppenheimer JH. Stimulation of mRNA-S14 and lipogenesis in brown fat by hypothyroidism, cold exposure and cafeteria feeding; evidence supporting a general role for S14 in lipogenesis and lipogenesis in the maintenance of thermogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84, 3070-3074, 1987.